WoW: Today – A Time To Begin

“Today – a time to begin again…”

When you get into your car, notice the difference in size of your wide, expansive windshield compared to your little rear view mirror. The reason the windshield is so large and the rear view mirror is so small is because what’s happened in your past and where you’ve been isn’t nearly as important as where you are and where you’re headed.

The one and only time we ever really have to live is right now. Yesterday is but a memory and tomorrow is just a dream. What we do have is right now, today.

There are only two reasons to go to the past:

1. To learn from it
2. To bring along some nice memories. Leave the rest behind – the hurts, the angers and resentments. We all can spend time on “coulda, woulda, shoulda,” but for what purpose? All we do is make ourselves feel bad, sad or self-righteous. Isn’t time better spent by learning the lessons the past has to teach us so we can do well today?

There is only one reason to go to the future:

1. To set goals, dream and plan the game we want to play.

But right now, today, is the only time I can change my whole life if I want to. I can interpret my past any way I choose and determine my future by what I say and do today.

Today, I will live as if it is my last chance to listen, see, hear, feel and touch.

Today, I will live as if it is my last chance to give and share love and kindness, especially to those who need it right now, knowing full well I leave footprints on the hearts of those around me.

Today, I will act as if anything is possible. I will cast aside my fears, and trust that I am completely safe and secure in the arms of the universe. Based on universal laws, I trust everything is evolving as it is meant to.

Today, I will surrender to “what is”. I will interpret a difficult situation or person in a way that creates value and internal peace for me. I will see the difficulty as a gift to help me evolve spiritually

Today, I will be patient with myself and others because I know we are all just learning.

Today, I will be a source of love and healing, because deep in my heart I know love is the answer, and today I will actively practice it.

Today, I will be an example of my values. I will seek ways for life to work for everyone and I will courageously speak my truth to anyone who violates the dignity and rights of others.

Today, I have faith in myself to be able to handle any obstacle or barrier in my path and I will successfully find a way to move past it.

Today, I will frequently smile and fill my heart with gratitude for the many gifts in my life.

Today, I will forgive.

Today, I choose to realize this is a friendly world meant to work and I will find evidence for how true this is.

Today, I will be happy.

And tonight, when I lay my head on my pillow, I will glimpse in the rear view mirror and ask myself, “Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s heart? Did I say words of healing and encouragement? Did I forgive? Did I love?”

And I will learn.

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WoW: What Is Great Leadership?

What Is Great Leadership?

The Rev Martin Luther King, Jr. was an example of one of the most remarkable and inspiring leaders of our time.

 

As we are desperately seeking good leadership in our country today, it is important to recognize that powerful leadership is defined in two ways. Hitler is an example of a powerful leader and so is Putin, Bashar al-Assad, Saddam Hussein and Idi Amin. Although they possess/ed some of the basic ingredients of leadership in that they are/were decisive, confident and focused, they are evil people with an evil intent.

 

Like all leaders, they took action and were able to communicate in a way that stirred up their followers. However, they appealed to the lowest levels of human nature and used hatred, fear and rage to manipulate their followers. Using lies and deception, they pitted people against one another and attempted to silence the media by calling it xx (literally “fake news”) and used every means possible to silence anyone who revealed the truth.

 

Like all bad (evil) leaders, they were arrogant, narcissistic and greedy, seeking only their own interests They had a dictatorial style that used power to overpower others. They neglected empathy altogether and had no problem inflicting pain on others to achieve their demands. (“I’ll be proud to shut down the government.”)

 

The definition of a powerful, great leader, however, is one who is a source of positive social influence, one who inspires, guides and maximizes the efforts of others toward the achievement of a greater good. Simply put, great leaders are persuasive and inclusive, not divisive. A great leader raises ones spirit, enlightens one’s thinking and unites his/her people behind a common vision. As John Quincy Adams put it,

 

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

 

Consider some of the world’s recent great leaders. Dr. Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela. Steve Jobs. Mother Theresa. Bill Gates. They also possessed power, but they used it to empower, not overpower. They all utilized their leadership talents – diverse as they may be – to make lives better in some way: achieving equality, justice, and freedom, making advanced technology available to all of us, improving living conditions in low-income communities, creating a global foundation that propels the idea that all lives have equal value.

 

A great leader is honest, tells the truth and has integrity. The 34th President of United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower once said,

 

“The supreme quality of good leadership is unquestionably integrity.

Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.”

 

Honesty and integrity are two vital ingredients that differentiate leaders.

 

Finally, a great leader is accountable. They take 100% responsibility for everyone’s performance, including their own. They don’t blame others, hide behind others or avoid ownership for the role they play in the results produced.

 

In light of the past 2 years, it is clear that our President and Congress, leaders all, have demonstrated the characteristics of very bad leadership, not great leadership. Please reflect on the words of a truly great leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

 

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’

 

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking.

There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.

 

I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.

 

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

 

The means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.

 

Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.”

 

(Note: I delayed this WoW to see what the President of the US would do and say on Martin Luther King Day. The Leader of the Free World, the person who represents who we are as a country, made a TWO MINUTE photo op to drop off a wreath and WAS absolutely SILENT about Dr. King. Later however, he would tweet his support for the Kentucky students who mocked, ridiculed and threatened the Native American Man beating his drum. Most were wearing their red MAGA caps.)

 

Throughout history evil leaders have been racists, and held themselves to be superior to anyone else – every single one of them!!

 

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

 

Dr. King was not silent. He knew what he stood for and his voice was heard. He made a positive, powerful difference during his short lifetime and his legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of those who stand for justice, equality and freedom for all.

 

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WoW: A Time To Begin Again

“A Time to Begin Again.”

 There are only two reasons to go to the past: to learn from it, and to bring along some good memories.”

 

The past only exists to the degree we keep it alive.

Let go.

Resentment is like drinking poison waiting for the other person to die

Anger is a punishment we give to ourselves for someone else’s mistake

Jealousy doesn’t change the heart of another person, it only changes yours

Guilt is something you did wrong when it was possible to have done otherwise. Isn’t there more we all could have done? Clear your conscience by making amends and then forgive yourself.

Accept.

Every human walks around with a certain kind of sadness and although it may not be obvious, it is there if you look deep enough. Sadness is a normal part of life when it is expressed in a healthy way. Is it not the price we pay for loving deeply?

Forgive

Forgiveness does not mean condone or endorse. Forgiving someone is a gift you give yourself not the other person. There can be no internal peace without it.

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As the World Fights to Figure It Out

As the world fights to figure things out, I’ll be letting people cut in front of me in traffic, saying good morning, keeping babies entertained in grocery lines, stopping to talk to someone who looks lonely, tipping generously, calling you by the name on your tag, waving at police, sharing food, giving children a thumbs-up, being patient with sales clerks and smiling at passersby, and as often as I have the opportunity, buying a total stranger a cup of coffee.

Because?

I will not stand idly by and live in a world where unconditional love is invisible.

Join me in showing love and judging less. Find your own way to swing the pendulum in the direction of love.
Be kind to a stranger today and every day. It just may be a friend you have never met.
Pay it forward for any kindness shown to you in the past.
Be the change! It starts with us!

(Copied from a friend who copied it from someone else, who copied it from someone else)

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